


Nightmares

by My_mood



Category: RWBY
Genre: Hallucinations, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 03:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17841854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_mood/pseuds/My_mood
Summary: Ruby dealing with PTSD





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic that i feel confident in sharing online  
> please leave constructive criticism thank you

The images in her dreams were as vivid and realistic as in person. The feeling of getting her arm torn from her body still clear in her memories as if it happened less than a week ago but in reality, it happened over five years ago. It was a torment that worn on not only her but her teammates as well. Waking up screaming and fighting the air around herself almost every night and waking her teammates. It was torture, pure torture. The prosthetic was top of the art from the atlas military, but it was still not the same as her arm. It was cold and lacked the feeling of touch and there was always an aching pain where her arm should be.  
  
Sleeping got especially bad when she was on missions without Weiss or Jaune. Those two were the only people who were able to calm her quickly when she had her nightmares. Because the more painful memory than having her limbs torn of was when her friend died in front of her own eyes during the fall of beacon. The worst nightmares were the ones where she was forced so watch her friends, teammates and family get killed off while she was unable to do anything.  
  
Ruby jerked awake silently with tears streaming down her face and pain pulsating from where her arm should have been after a nightmare. It was currently midnight in the Rose Xiao Long residence. Her hair was matted to her forehead from the cold sweat and her body was clammy and stuck to her pajamas. She sat up in her bed and looked around the room quickly making sure everything was as it should be. Crescent rose was leaning against the wall besides her bead and her prosthetic was laying on the night table. After making sure that nothing had happened, she stepped out of her bed and into the bathroom to take a shower. The water ran cold down her scarred and worn out body. She would never get used to the feeling of washing her body. The scares were constantly changing into new patterns and having only one hand it was difficult to reach everywhere. Her prosthetic is supposed to be waterproof, but it was uncomfortable to wear in the cold water.  
  
Ruby stepped out of the shower and was met with her own reflection in the mirror. The reflection was crystal clear and showed her entire body. She looked in the mirror with a cold and sad stare before grabbing two towels throwing one over the mirror to block the reflection. She dried up her hair and wrapped the towel around her chest, something that was almost impossible for her. Ruby walked down to the kitchen after finishing with drying up and getting dressed in simple clothes.  
  
She grabbed a glass from the cupboard to get a drink of water before sitting down at the coffee table looking out of the window out into the forest night. The trees waved in the silent wind making light brisling sounds as the leaves scratched against each other. The sky was colored in a deep dark blue in the light of the broken moon with the stars looking like tiny diamonds hung on the sky.  
  
Ruby jumped and let out a scared weep when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning around to see a face old and familiar. A face that filled Ruby with both happiness and sorrow. A warm and gentle hand wiping away Ruby’s tear from her cheek. ruby grabbed the hand and held it with a firm grip reassuring that the person in front of her was real and not just an illusion played on her by her mind. It was true. She really was back home again. Ruby broke down in silent tears lunging herself forward and wrapping her arm around the blonde who stood in front of her, feeling the warmth of her emblanse radiate from her entire body.  
  
“I missed you so much yang… So so much” feeling a hand wrap around her back beginning to gently stroke it made ruby calm down a bit.  
  
“I never meant for my baby sister to be alone” the words came out as a whisper as smooth as silk.  
  
Ruby with tears still rolling down her face let go of her older sister and wiping away hear tears with a snuffle and a happy grin on her face. Ruby sat down on her chair again as Yang walked over to the cupboard and grabbed herself a glass of her own. Ruby watched Yang without saying anything as she went over to the liquor cabinet and filled her glass with one of Qrow’s many bottles of whiskey and watched as she sat down on a chair besides her on the table. They were silent, both looking out into the night. Ruby wanted to break the silence but could not find the right words to speak so she just sat there with a slightly open mouth making noises as she tried to speak.  
  
A feeling of sorrow welled up inside of her when she realized that she was unable to even talk properly with her own sister. “you don’t have to force yourself say anything you know I’m not going to leave for a while, so we’ll have a lot of time to catch up” Yang’s voice priced through the silence, her voice sounding cheerful but there was a certain sadness to it that Ruby noticed very easily. She knew yang well enough to know this was a method to hide her emotions a cover so to speak. But she decided not to pry tonight. They were both tired and yang was almost done with her drink. Hopefully she would go to bed instead for a refill when she was done.  
  
Her hunt for the remaining white fang members had taken its toll on Yang’s body as well, and it showed. She had a lot of scars on her arm and she was on her fifth proteases because of her fighting style. Ruby could feel her heart sink into her chest as she imagined how many battles Yang had been in while she was out hunting. She closed her eyes and shook her head trying to clear her mind of the memories she had tried to repress. Her vision became cloudy as a sharp pain pierced through her head making her yelp in pain. Yang shot up in fear and was quickly at her side to calm her down.  
  
With the pain still lingering ruby opened her eyes slowly to look straight down at the table. Her entire body shivering in fear for what her surroundings may conceal. Although she knew that she was able to defend herself from any potential physical danger, and her sister was there, and she was able to fight as well or even better than her. But it was not the physical she feared. It was the visions that haunted her when she couldn’t sleep, and the dreams that she had when she could. There was little help in Yang’s presence as she could not physically protect her from what receded within her mind. The best thing yang could do for her was to bring comfort and remind her shat she was there.  
  
“You should try to get some rest” Yang said while holding Ruby’s face up in front of her own.  
  
Ruby with tears rolling down her face closes her eyes and nods faintly before whispering “I know... But I can’t. the nightmares… they won’t stop” Letting out an auditable sob.  
  
Yang pulled Ruby into a hug and wrapped her hands around her head and began stroking it while whispering to her that everything is going to be fine and that she is here for her. As the intervals on Ruby’s sobs became longer and the sobs themselves became softer Ruby could hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. Ruby opened her eyes and looked directly at her fathers face when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. A look of concern was upon face as Taiyang looked at Ruby as she looked around the room for Yang… who were nowhere to be seen.  
  
Ruby breaks into tears and falls to her knees as she realizes what had happened. Taiyang embracing her in a tight hug. He said nothing as Ruby’s tears rolled down her face and onto his shoulder. He only sat there knowing how she felt. How much suffering she had gone through, and how many battles she had yet to fight. “it’s okay Ruby. Just let it all out.” Were the only words he could manage to utter as ruby continued to cry.  
  
He looked over to the shelve on the wall where two pictures were standing. One of Team RWBY from when they had just started at beacon academy. And the second, a picture of Yang smiling giving a peace sign.


End file.
